While children are taught maths at schools, many aren’t shown how this applies to managing money later in life. Showing kids the applications of maths within their personal finances, as well as the side of money they aren’t taught, is crucial for them to be able to handle their money better as young adults.
By introducing financial topics gradually and engaging with your children, they’ll gain more independence and get a better grasp of how maths works in the real world too. Here are a few simple ways you can introduce money management at natural points in their lives.
Give them paid tasks for pocket money
If your child wants to buy something or has started expressing an interest in pocket money, you can establish paid tasks with them.
It doesn’t need to be anything elaborate – emptying the dishwasher, putting on laundry, washing a car, etc. – simple regular tasks will show them that their efforts are worth something.
This can establish a link between actions and money, as well as developing the beginnings of a work ethic.
Open a supervised savings account
Providing a savings account for your children can give them a place to store their pocket money and other monetary gifts (birthday money, gifts from family, etc.).
This way, they can save for bigger purchases themselves and understanding the value of saving up their money to be self-sufficient. They don’t need to ask you to buy them something, as they can go out and get it themselves.
Learning this early on can transition to better money management later in life, helping them to build up savings in case of an emergency.
Provide an expenses notebook
Keeping a record of what you’ve spent your money on can be incredibly handy – it’s why challenger banking apps have proven so successful in recent years.
Giving your child a notebook where they can jot down what they’ve spent their pocket money on can help set good habits early on. It also links to the savings account, as it shows them exactly where their money went which could have gone into savings.
Explain financial topics they hear about
It’s likely that over the years, your children will start to encounter financial topics out in everyday life. There are lots of areas of finance that could come up in conversation.
Providing an explanation to them around what it is and how they function can give them a better understanding of why they’re used, as well as the potential risks involved.
Be an example for your children
Children respond to their immediate environment as part of how they make sense of the world around them. As a parent, you’ll directly factor into that with your actions. If you’re buying things then talk them through why.
Be sure to properly assess your own finances before making big decisions. This can show your kids that a little planning can go a long way.
Each of these areas can directly contribute to the financial education of your children without needing to sit them down for extra money lessons. This can provide them with a strong foundation as they get older and start engaging with money management more, setting them up to be more responsible.
